Celtic music in the Smokies

Join Bean Sidhe, pronounced ban-shee, for a lively evening of traditional music from the British Isles. The premier Celtic band of the Smokies will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 22, at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City.

The group began as a means for members to explore the connections linking traditional music from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales with its contemporary American counterparts, especially in the bluegrass, country, and folk genres. The band currently has four members: David Russell, who may have lost count of the exact number of musical instruments he plays, but he is capable of playing at least a dozen at the performance level; Amanda Burts plays recorder and accordion; Ralph Wright-Murphy, who is a classically trained baritone, sings, plays bodhran (Irish drum) and guitar; and rounding out the group is Karin Lyle, a professional musician from Waynesville who plays harp and violin, and can be found teaching at the Balsam Gallery Dulcimer Shop in Waynesville.

The Friends of the Marianna Black Library will provide snacks and refreshments. This program is free.